Ranking the NHL's 10 Most Overrated Free Agents in 2013 Offseason

During NHL's free-agency period, teams overspend on players, and this year there are players who are overrated because of a diluted market. While these players aren't bad because they have the stigma of being overrated attached to them, their value isn't what it is cracked up to be.

There are a number of key players who will be free agents on July 5, and here are the top 10 most overrated free agents of the 2013 offseason.

10. Tim Thomas

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Tim Thomas is coming back for NHL hockey. The 39-year-old netminder is a Vezina, Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup winner, but he isn’t that goaltender anymore.

Although "Tea Party" Tim prides himself on his conditioning and agility, it is hard to keep reflexes intact. It will be tough for him to adjust to NHL action after a yearlong vacation, and some NHL club could find out the hard way that he isn’t the same goalie anymore.

9. Clarke MacArthur

Claus Andersen/Getty ImagesClarke MacArthur

Clarke MacArthur is an interesting UFA that will likely cash in during free agency. At his best, MacArthur was a 62-point player. On average, he is a 30 to 40-point player, but he is only 28 years old and would seemingly have the potential to get better.

With the Maple Leafs, MacArthur has been a decent all-around player, but he is overrated in a weakened free-agent market.

8. Nathan Horton

Playoff Nathan Horton is great, but regular-season Nathan Horton is average. The current Bruin is not a $6 million player, but he wants to get paid like one.

In 43 games, he has 22 points, and it was only during the playoffs that he showed he was back. Horton’s career best came during the 2007-08 season, a year in which he tallied 62 points.

With Boston, Horton tallied 107 points over three years, and he is being overrated because of his playoff production. Horton has health risks because of concussions, age is not on his side, and he isn’t likely to get better as his career continues.

7. Jarome Iginla

Justin K. Aller/Getty ImagesJarome Iginla

The hockey world waited with baited breath when it was announced that Jarome Iginla was going to be traded by the Calgary Flames. Then he was eventually traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it was assumed he would fit in well alongside Evgeni Malkin.

What happened next was unexpected, and it showed that vintage Iginla was gone. Iginla is overrated because he is no longer the dynamic 500-goal scorer he has been his entire career. He is a serviceable secondary scorer, but some team will massively overpay for him this summer.

6. Jaromir Jagr

Harry How/Getty ImagesJaromir Jagr

What was said about Iginla applies for good ole Jags. Jaromir Jagr is an elite player who will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, but he is not going to live up to the contract he eventually is signed to.

Teams interested in Jagr will point to the success he had during a short stint with the Dallas Stars, but once Jagr left Dallas, he struggled. He wasn’t a solid fit for the Bruins, and he will attempt to find a new team this summer.

Jagr has a year or two left in him, but he isn't the player he once was or the player he was last year with the Philadelphia Flyers.

5. Valtteri Filppula

Valtteri Filppula is going to hope he can cash in on one big year, and teams will hope to do the same. It happened with Ville Leino, and the same is bound to happen for Filppula.

During the 2011-12 campaign, Filppula had an amazing 66-point campaign. It was his best career season to date, and in 2012-13, he fell down to earth. He had 17 points in 41 games, which projects to 34 points over an 82-game season.

That is in line with what Filppula has done for most of his career, but there are teams that will go after him based on potential. They will rationalize that with more ice time and opportunities Filppula is bound to succeed.

The same was speculated about Jiri Hudler, and that didn’t exactly work out too well.

4. Derek Roy

Derek Leung/Getty ImagesDerek Roy

Derek Roy was sent to the Vancouver Canucks at the NHL trade deadline, and his limited production during the shortened season will make teams overpay for him this summer. Roy had 28 points in 42 games, and he was on pace for his best season since he tallied a point per game in 2010-11.

Roy has not been the same since missing time during the 2010-11 season, and his play has been diminished to an average second-line role.

In a free-agent market that features centers like Mike Ribeiro and Vincent Lecavalier, there is bound to be a team that overpays Roy after missing out on the two biggest names.

3. Ryane Clowe

Justin K. Aller/Getty ImagesRyane Clowe

Ryane Clowe was in demand at the NHL trade deadline because of his physicality and potential to score, but he suffered three concussions in the year 2013. He has been cleared by doctors, but he is only one hit away from his career potentially being over.

Clowe is older, his offense has declined, and he isn’t the player teams still think he is. In a slim market, he will be a top name, but he is one of the most overrated free agents on the market.

2. Tyler Bozak

According to Darren Dreger, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tyler Bozak are discussing a contract extension. The proposal was eight years in length and less than $5 million a season.

Bozak is 27 years old and his career high in points is 47. While he could improve as he progresses, the deal would be overrating Bozak. For starters, with Nazem Kadri and Dave Bolland, the Leafs don't have use for Bozak at that price, and the Leafs probably learned their mistake about giving out bad contracts. See the Mikhail Grabovski contract for starters.

Although Bozak could potentially be one of the younger centers on the market, he is an overrated player who hasn't proved that he deserves close to $5 million in salary.

1. David Clarkson

Paul Bereswill/Getty ImagesDavid Clarkson

David Clarkson had an amazing 2011-12 season that suggested he could become an elite power winger. After potting 30 goals in 2011-12, Clarkson only scored 15 goals during the 2012-13 truncated lockout season.

Before his 30-goal season, Clarkson was an average player who had a bottom-six role. If you look at his entire career, is it more likely for him to go up or down from here?

2012-13 was a poor year for Clarkson, but he will be the big fish in the small pond of free agency. Clarkson is best suited to be a second- or third-line winger, but there is bound to be a team that pays him to be a first liner.

According to Tom Gulitti of The Record, Clarkson will not re-sign with the Devils, and that means he is in for a huge payday.